Collaborative Project Management Considerations

More and more contractors are involved with construction project management as part of what they do.  Some will be heavily involved in pre-construction doing design or engineering work or helping oversee  these functions. They may also be soliciting and comparing bids from prospective subcontractors.

Once construction actually begins, they will monitor progress on the schedule and costs to date versus expected costs at completion based on the percentage of work that has been done. This may result in over or under billing the job to date which, of course, can have a major impact on working capital. If government work is involved they will have to keep tabs on “earned value” which is measured by comparing costs to date to the total contract amount to assure that they are not going to release funds that have not been “earned” by the contractor based on actual progress.

In addition to tracking actual costs to estimates by time, phase and cost type, phase, construction managers have to deal with documents such as change orders to the job, RFIs and submittals which must be routed for approval.  Ideally software should allow for a specific work-flow process that routes documents from one individual to another via email alerts or reports. Furthermore,  the software  will need to keep track of meeting minutes and comments from various stakeholders in the process as subcontractors, the GC, etc.

Collaborative project management involves more parties and is more complex. In this case, an owner may commission one or more construction projects and contracts with general contractors to deal with hiring subcontractors and taking full responsibility for actual construction.  Since owners are funding the project they are very concerned about things like job progress and tracking costs to date. They also want to provide a platform for end to end project management  where various stakeholders such as with design engineers, architects, mechanical contractors, etc.  will use one software solution  that supports  entering labor and materials cost  data, along with relevant documentation,  on a real time basis and tracking these costs  to budget. A construction software application that includes document vaulting is also desirable to allow scanning and storing documents associated with specific transactions with some kind of indexed subject lookup. This goes toward the paperless office concept that many people want.

An intelligent work-flow process will be needed in these situations such as tracking how many change order dollars were approved for a contract as well as how many are pending along with how many punch list items are unresolved to date and those responsible for it.

The owner will want to allow specific access rights to stakeholders based on their roles but not allow them to see data that is outside their area of responsibility. In this case the software has to support very sophisticated security configurations for various users.

Well designed construction project management software will continue to serve owners for  capital projects, maintenance and preventative maintenance well beyond the initial construction. Sometimes owners want to monitor multiple projects at multiple facilities (e.g. universities or multi-location retailers) and track post construction costs like maintenance or simple renovation costs.

Construction Project Management Software Controls Costs

More than ever, with tightening credit and downward cost pressures, it is important to control costs on construction projects.  Even government and municipal projects have greatly reduced budgets. What may also be important is payment timing has stretched out as well.  All of this combines to create an environment where controlled costs are the rule for survival.

One of the major functions of project management is cost control.  Along with materials, labor and timing, budget and cost are central to the project manager.  Construction software helps project managers control budget cost on a real time basis.  Companies looking to control costs should consult construction management software reviews for the futures we will be discussing.

All construction projects have budgets. The major components of the budgets are the funding and the disbursements. In most cases neither will be a lump sum, broken into parcels. This makes the construction budget dynamic in nature and underscores the importance of timing. A budget can’t have more go out than comes in.  Construction Project Management Software helps because like the actual project, the software can also be dynamic.  As goals and priorities constantly shift, the construction budget will constantly shift. With regular input the Construction Project Management Software will be able to help plan disbursements that are in line with the budget and actual cash on hand.

Another important aspect of budgeting is cost centers. Cost centers are costs that are broken into categories.  By using cost centers, various aspects can be micro managed with greater precision than if they were lumped together.  Many times on a large project, cost centers will have their own manager with budgetary responsibility.  Construction Software allows for the use of cost centers, which are actually an integrated part of the process.  There is no need for cost center data to be put together separately. It’s all part of the same package like having tabs on a spreadsheet program, and yet one tab contains data from all.

Financing is also an aspect of a budget that is important. As has been stated, funds are generally not available in a lump sum.  They may also not be in the form of case but credit or a credit line.   This is critical in project management budgets.  Money must be taken only as needed.  As money is taken, the interest meter begins to run, and the
construction project costs more.  This is probably factored to an extent in the quoting process, but the project manager needs to work to not exceed this budget.  Again this is where the tools in Construction Project Management Software come into play. By managing each task on the project, keeping the Construction Project Management Software input data up to date; the project manager can control the financing costs to a minimum in order to maximize profits.

With Construction Project Management Software all of the activities here can be accomplished in near real time.  This allows the project manager to response to changes and allow for the best and most profitable conclusion possible.

Selecting a New Construction Software System: What to be Aware of

When construction companies are engaged in looking for a Construction Software package, it is critically important that those involved in the evaluation and selection process be keenly aware of the overall business practices, procedures and processes, in order to make the selection process a success.

While most Construction Management Software solutions provide the basics for most construction company models, there are some important major factors which need to be addressed as the process moves along.

For example, many Construction Management Software packages might come with innovative and useful modules or components which promise to help streamline some processes; but sometimes the streamlining might be a bit too straight-forward for the particular business model at hand.  When that happens, some processes or procedures already in place might need to be re-designed, in order to work effectively within the software parameters.  While process improvements are typically a welcome adjunct to any business, such efforts can bog employees down significantly.

Such scenarios can be frustrating and time consuming; and can slow down the selection process as well.  However, some of this might be a necessary part of fitting the business to the software, if the software cannot be easily fit to the business.

Furthermore, Construction Management Software selection can often lead to frustration with regard to assistance and input from other members of the construction company seeking the software solutions.  Everyone in the company should have plenty of work to do just to keep the business operating, and it is often difficult to solicit help or input from employees who are busy trying to keep up with everyday duties.

In order to ensure a smooth, comfortable, meaningful and successful Construction Management Software selection, it is imperative that upper management within the construction company be behind the effort fully.  Without management sponsorship, the selection process will drag on and on, and the outcome might be far less than what is needed or desired.  If upper management fully supports and backs the software selection team or individuals engaged in that, things will go much smoother; and the outcome will be far more agreeable.

Another source of frustration is that of picking and choosing the right vendors and suppliers of Construction Management Software.  Which ones will provide the most expertise; the most in-house, hands-on assistance; the most comprehensive and complete software solution and implementation for your construction company needs?  Choosing the right vendors, though sometimes difficult, can be overcome if the team or individuals engaged in the selection process do some research and homework about a variety of vendors.  Such an effort can save a lot of headaches going forward.

In other words, the software selection process must include some kind of measurable vendor-evaluation methodology.  Brainstorming for what is critically important to the particular business at hand will help to establish the basic vendor traits and characteristics needed to ensure a successful software selection and implementation.

The old adage “don’t put the cart before the horse” is probably a good one to remember when trying to select which Construction Project Management Software package is best suited for your particular construction company.  It is often very difficult, however, to know whether you should focus on fitting the business to the software, or the other way around.

For the most part, it is probably easier and more effective to study existing processes, procedures, and other internal controls as the software selection process is under way.  If you try to re-design those controls ahead of time, you might not fully understand enough about how the software works to fit the controls to its functionality.

Likewise, if you wait until you fully understand the software functionality to start looking at existing internal controls, you will undoubtedly lose momentum in the selection process.  A successful software selection and implementation is best accomplished when the selection team or individuals have opportunity to see the software functionality in action; that way, they can more effectively re-design processes for the best fit within the software parameters.